Cairns child killings
| Cairns child killings | |
|---|---|
| Location | Manoora, Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
| Date | 18–19 December 2014 |
Attack type | Pedicide, mass stabbing, mass murder |
| Weapons | Knife or knives |
| Deaths | 8 |
| Injured | 1 (the perpetrator) |
| Perpetrator | Raina Mersane Ina Thaiday |
On 19 December 2014, eight children were found stabbed to death at a home in the Australian city of Cairns. Raina Thaiday, the mother of seven of the children and the aunt of the eighth, was charged with eight counts of murder in relation to the killings, but in 2017 was deemed unfit to stand trial by reason of insanity, following a diagnosis of schizophrenia. She was detained indefinitely at a psychiatric facility. The killings took place in the Cairns suburb of Manoora, with the victims aged between 18 months and 14 years. The bodies, with stab wounds, were discovered by the children's 20-year-old brother.